She had two paid days off and the judge said that despite it being for a dog, the university’s rules say she can take them for “serious or family personal reasons.”

Animal activists told The Telegraph that the ruling showed that Italy believes that pets are “members of the family” and that the case will set an important precedent.

“It is a significant step forward that recognized that animals that are not kept for financial gain or their working ability are effectively members of the family,” Gianluca Felicetti, the president of the Italian Anti-Vivisection League, told The Telegraph.

The lawyers used Italy’s laws to support their case citing that anyone who abandons an animal to “grave suffering” be sentenced to jail for a year and fined up to 10,000 Euros or nearly $12,000, The Guardian reported.